Unravelling the Mystery
by IwasbornaRecluse
Summary: Penny stared at Sheldon with a sympathetic look in her eyes. She didn't know how to say it, but she really did feel bad for him; especially when he was like this. A surprising friendship between Sheldon and Penny blossoms: no-one ever said it was easy.
1. The Remembrance Paradigm

The first proper fan fiction I'm ever attempting. At the moment, I'm totally shipping Penny/Sheldon, and I hope for this to be a thorough and eye-opening ride for the two characters.

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING.

Title: Unraveling the Mystery

Chapter 1: The Remembrance Paradigm

Penny stared at Sheldon with a sympathetic look in her eyes. She didn't know how to say it, but she really did feel bad for him. She feared telling him as he cared not for others feelings, and, in return, she pretended not to care for his. Her sarcastic comments followed by looks of dismay were fake. She really did feel bad for him; especially when he was like this.

Sheldon held in his hands a vintage comic book, recently, with the threat of an emotion breakdown, taken out from his safety deposit box. He'd waited 30 minutes in line, during which he contemplated slipping Howard a Diet Coke with one of the several toxic substances that were untraceable in an autopsy. But where at this time of night would he get his hands on such substances at such shot notice.

"Hey Sheldon, what's wrong sweetie?" she questioned.

He repeated his monologue of waiting for 30 minutes just to get a damned comic book and recited his disappointment of losing a bet to Wolowitz.

"Oh sweetie." Penny gave Sheldon a one armed hug as they made their way to the stairs.

"That was completely unnecessary."

Penny sighed. However prominent her want to slap him across his face, she reminded herself that he was still, and would always be, Doctor Sheldon Lee Cooper; probably the only man in the world without any need for physical human contact.

At this thought, Penny's eyebrows furrowed a small frown on her lips. He didn't want her to know that he saw it, never mind acknowledged it, so he didn't say anything. He turned his face away and looked forwards as they climbed the stairs in peace.

The silence wasn't strange or awkward like the first time they'd met.

"_New neighbor?" Leonard questioned his roommate, grasping his Indian takeaway bag in his left hand._

"_Evidently," Sheldon replied, uninterested. He hadn't looked into the apartment for too long; he didn't feel the need to._

"_Significant improvement on the old neighbor."_

_Sheldon's eyes were drawn to the blonde beauty currently digging into a cardboard box labeled 'clothes'._

"_Two-hundred pound transvestite with a skin condition. Yes, she is," he'd said, trying to not sound affected by the vision of this woman. Her golden hair swayed slightly, straightened and glossy; bronzed shoulders, thin waist, flat stomach and delicious, lengthily legs._

Thinking of it now, he might have even smiled to himself.

"Penny?" he questioned.

She grunted as if to allow him to continue. He mentally thanked her and continued his halted speech.

"My mortal enemy Leslie Winkle is in my apartment with Leonard. I don't want to go in there."

Penny smiled, coming up to her apartment door. She looked up into Sheldon's deep blue eyes, seemingly genuinely affected by Leslie Winkle's presence in his home.

Penny stared at Sheldon with a sympathetic look in her eyes. She didn't know how to say it, but she really did feel bad for him. She feared telling him as he cared not for others feelings, and, in return, she pretended not to care for his. Her sarcastic comments followed by looks of dismay were fake. She really did feel bad for him; especially when he was like this.

"Sweeties, you wanna come in?" she offered, opening her door, groceries held in one arm. The gift of multi-tasking was a woman's life-saver. Sheldon nodded.

He didn't follow her in. He stopped and thought back to their very first conversation. Such a long way they'd come since then.

"_Oh, hi!" the delicious blonde said politely at the staring strangers. Sheldon gulped, never one for verbal communication with another human, unless with a member of his family of close circle of friends; or the lady behind the counter at Ralph's._

"_Hi," his roommate said._

"_Hi." Sheldon spoke awkwardly, shifting his stance._

_The conversation continued with the same one-syllable welcomes one would say even to a stranger when met in the street or a supermarket. To Sheldon, it was personal._

_An unsure Penny smiled as she pondered her current social position, looking directly into the brown eyes of the smaller, curly haired man with glasses with a somewhat hopeful expression on his face. The direction of her eyesight switched to the other man, further behind, uttering yet another menial greeting from his thin lips._

"_Hi," she practically breathed, her green eyes tangled in their connected vision. A piercing blue stared back at her sending her knees weak. _

_She tried not to think about the mystery man as she closed her door and leaned back onto it. They were neighbors; she would see them any time, probably whenever she opened her front door. But those blue eyes and thin lips were all she could think about; his deep voice, broad shoulders, slender physicality: not her usually choice._

_Unusual: exactly the point._

_This was different. His eyes were different. His stance was… different. She had to see him, she thought, running over to her kitchen aisle to the right of her apartment._

"_Crap! Full up on sugar," she cursed._

_And then a fateful knock at her door was heard, saving her from her delirium; welcoming him into a whole new world of such._


	2. The Friendship Paradigm

Very quick update. Perhaps too fast an update. Ah well, I'd like to get the grip of this story before I lose it. It's moving too fast I believe already. I'll pace it. I promise.

Enjoy, and thank you for the past comments.

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING.

Title: Unraveling the Mystery

Chapter 2: The Friendship Paradigm

If it wasn't the fact that she sung in the shower, then it was this that annoyed him most.

"Penny," he started.

"What moonpie?" she cooed. She loved the bemused and slightly angry look on his face. His lips turned into a thin, straight line.

"You're in my seat."

Penny smiled and shifted over. Sheldon rested himself beside her, a comfy sigh breathing through his lips. Those luscious, luscious lips, she thought, and shook her head.

"Where's Leonard?" he questioned. Another HALO night once again lost; second time in a row. They better not make a habit of this, he'd thought. He knew though, that deep in the back of his mind, he was grateful for this: being here, with her.

As much as Sheldon tried, and he'd tried in vigorously hard, to pull up on the many faults of this blonde beauty next to him, he couldn't bring himself to use them against her. Without a doubt, his friendship with Penny has surprised him. To hell with that, it had frightened him. It frightened him when Leonard and Penny had dated, broken up, dated and broken up and fought. He didn't mind so much when he got a free trip to Disneyland from it, but still, he was frightened. And even most, he was frightened by the way his heart warmed when he saw her sweet, oval face, and that look of general 'I don't give a damn' in her perfect, green eyes.

He often shook his head and complained, mostly moaned about her lazy and 'takes it for free' attitude, but he had found it hard to not accept her into his friendship circle. And yes, as much as he hated to admit it, it wasn't too hard to do such. He made a big deal of it because… well, because he could.

Leonard's last relationship with Penny had ended badly. Leonard's love for Penny was not returned, and Penny didn't know why. Or rather, she didn't have the strength to admit defeat. There was a blockage in her heart where her emotional capacity for Leonard was. The wall was tall, slender and annoying. Scratch that: very annoying.

Conversation flowed as it always had when they were alone.

"How was your day Sheldon?" She stuffed a forkful of tangled noodles into her mouth and chewed. Sheldon stared on in dismay, sighing.

"Ah, the classic conversation starter. Are you really bothered by the events of my day, or is my speech a waste of both our time?"

Unusual: snappy. She knew Sheldon; he was snappy, rude and often didn't know he was doing it. Tonight however, it sounded severely intentional. Penny's eyebrows furrowed slightly, gulping down her noodles and sticking her fork angrily into the take away box, digging around but never letting the food reach her lips.

"As hard as it is to believe Sheldon but I do actually care."

"Ah, I see. Well, thank you Penny. I suppose, my day has been…" he paused staring at the blonde whose head rested in her hands, take away box balancing on the corner of the table before them.

Sheldon at the very least angered her, but it wasn't what fueled her breakdown. A tear rolled down her cheek.

_What do I do now? Oh lord, I really should research this in more thorough detail. Oh, Penny, please don't cry. Oh how it aches to see you do so._

What he said was less romantic.

"Penny, please don't cry. It makes me uncomfortable and you in turn."

One last quiet sob and a wiping of tears later, she looked up to face him. Why couldn't life be easy, like his? Sure, he had all of his scientific equations and his annoying anal lifestyle to live up to, but Penny wished she had that: she wished she had it all. And just that. No ex-boyfriends, no impertinent 'check-engine light', no bills to pay, no reasons to cry and feel sad because she was a failure. Sheldon had it all.

She knew, she just _knew_, that, if she were to ask, just for a night, for him to share it with her: his lack of worry, his carefree outlook towards 'primal instincts' and that of the sort, he'd say no. He'd tell her to stop feeling sorry for herself. But for a moment, a short, just _brief moment, _she thought, just _maybe_, he could say yes. Just _maybe_, he'd take it in his hands and pass it on to her, will a farewell kiss, and walk to his bedroom and lie down, and sleep. That just for a night, Penny didn't have to care and cry and sit in her apartment drinking wine and ice cream like a dependant loner.

Penny wanted to feel happy. For the first time in a long time, she wanted to feel like there was no reason for these tears that ran endlessly down her cheeks and soaked her pillows every damn night consistently. She wished she could be all cried out, and dry up, turn into ash and just float away with the wind: the careless, beautiful, graceful wind.

And for a moment, as she was lost in the dazzling blue of his open eyes, a far of twinkle; like a distant star hidden deep in a galaxy somewhere in this bitter universe, said yes.

And she _felt _it, _treasured_ it; _held_ it. _Mine, _she thought. _Mine._

"Penny?" Penny awoke from her frozen state.

"Yes sweetie?" She dried the last of her fallen tears on the hem of her t-shirt.

"Would you, perhaps, like to play HALO?"

"Yes, Sheldon. Yes I would love to play HALO with you."

"Penny?" She looked up attentively.

"My day was fine by the way. How was yours?"

"It was good Sheldon," she lied. _Much better now._


End file.
